The Rocky Horror Show - History

History

As an out-of-work actor, Richard O'Brien wrote The Rocky Horror Show to keep himself busy on winter evenings. Since his youth, O'Brien had developed a passion for science fiction and B horror movies; he wanted to combine elements of the unintentional humour of B horror movies, portentous dialogue of schlock-horror, Steve Reeves muscle flicks and fifties rock and roll into The Rocky Horror Show.

O'Brien took a small amount of his unfinished Rocky Horror to director Jim Sharman, who decided he wanted to direct it at the small experimental space Upstairs at the Royal Court Theatre, Sloane Square, Chelsea which was used as a project space for new work. Sharman had received some success with the original Australian production of Jesus Christ Superstar during which he met O'Brien, who had played King Herod for just one performance. Sharman brought in fellow Australians Nell Campbell and long-time scenic designer Brian Thomson to the production.

The original creative team was then rounded out by costume designer Sue Blane and musical director Richard Hartley, although Pete Moss would later take over as musical director. 'Veteran' of the new generation of stage producers Michael White was also brought in to produce Rocky Horror. As the musical went into rehearsal, the working title for it became It Came from Denton High, but it was changed just before previews at the suggestion of Sharman to The Rocky Horror Show.

After two previews, the show premiered – without an interval – at the Royal Court's 63-seat Theatre Upstairs on 19 June 1973 and ran until 20 July 1973. The cast included Tim Curry, Patricia Quinn, Nell Campbell (billed as Little Nell), Julie Covington and Richard O'Brien, who made the production, which was all-out camp, a creative triumph and a critical and commercial success. Record producer Jonathan King saw it on the second night and signed the cast to make the original cast recording over a long weekend that was rushed out on his U.K. Records label. King was involved heavily in the initial promotion for the show as well as being the other backer of it financially with White.

The impact at the Royal Court Upstairs allowed, nay demanded, the production be transferred to the 230-seat Chelsea Classic Cinema, a few blocks down on Kings Road from 14 August 1973 to 20 October 1973. Rocky Horror found a quasi-permanent home at the 500-seat King's Road Theatre (another cinema house) even further down Kings Road from 3 November 1973. The show received critical praise and won the 1973 Evening Standard Award for Best Musical. A breast-pocket-tapping (to indicate that, yes, they DO have the tickets) fashionable audience of attendees went to see the musical sometimes again and again as it became a highly regarded "it" trend in London of the mid 1970s.

It ended its run at the King's Road Theatre on 31 March 1979 before transferring to the Comedy Theatre (now the Harold Pinter Theatre) to begin performances on 6 April 1979. There, Rocky Horror required some restaging as it was the first theatre that the musical had played at with a traditional proscenium arch stage. For the first time, the musical was also broken into two acts with an interval. It finished its run there on 13 September 1980.